Evidence-Based Long-Term Memory Strategies that Help Students Remember

Milton J. Dehn, Ed.D., NCSPSchoolhouse Educational Services

Fall, 2012

Notice of Copyright, 2012

This PowerPoint and accompanying materials are copyrighted by Milton J. Dehn and Schoolhouse Educational Services, LLC. All rights reserved. No photocopying, electronic display, or electronic dissemination of these materials is allowed without written permission. For permission, contact milt@psychprocesses.com

Workshop Information Sources

• References in handout packet• Books by Dehn: Working Memory and

Academic Learning (2008); Long-Term Memory Problems in Children and Adolescents (2010); Helping Students Remember (2011).

• Presenter Email: milt@psychprocesses.com• www.workingmemoryonline.com

Workshop Overview

1. Memory systems and processes2. The neuroanatomy of memory3. Tier I: Screening and effective instruction4. Tier II: Evidence-based interventions

1. Working memory exercises2. Long-term memory strategies

5. Tier III: Interventions for severe problems

Need for Memory Interventions

1. Under-identified in children & adolescents2. 10% have a WM impairment-Alloway3. About 6% of average children have LTM

deficits (UK research)4. Half of LD have a memory deficit (Dehn)5. LTM impairments are a growing problem,

e.g, juvenile diabetes and concussions6. Intervention expertise is lacking; example

Memory Systems

Three main systems

Attention

Visual Short-Term Memory

Auditory Short-Term Memory

VerbalLong-Term

Memory

VisualLong-Term

Memory

RetrievalWorkingMemory

WM versus STM

1. STM part of WM construct but separable neurologically

2. STM is storage; WM is storage + processing3. Effortful rehearsal and retrieval is WM 4. “WM: the limited capacity to retain

information while simultaneously manipulating the same or other information for a short period of time”

5. WM is one of the executive functions

WM Capacity

1. STM adult span of 7; WM limit of 4 chunks1. Case examples

2. Focus of attention: might be one chunk3. Processing and storage use same resource4. Concurrent processing lowers span5. Strategies increase span6. Duration affected by processing speed,

content, and amount of interference7. Human limitations

Cognitive Load Theory

1. WM is a combination of processing & storage2. Processing & storage both draw on WM

capacity3. Learner can only focus attention on one

aspect at a time4. The greater the processing demands, the less

that can be retained in WM/STM (linear)5. “Cognitive Load” is the processing portion

Retention as a Function of Cognitive Load

Task Switching (Time Sharing)

1. To retain info. in WM, one must frequently switch from processing to refreshing the info.

2. If the processing (cognitive load) is demanding, there will be less switching and more info. will be lost

3. Theoretically, when cognitive load consumes all of WM; all info. is lost (Barrouillet, 2011)

4. Switching is difficult for young children5. Example: remember steps while completing an

online task

Cognitive Load

1. Switching and amount of info. increase the time to complete the processing

2. Environmental distractions add to cog. load3. Irrelevant thoughts adds to cognitive load4. Cognitive load is the main determinant of

storage in WM (and STM)5. In experiments with very high load, children

can typically retain one item of information

STM/WM vs LTM• STM LTM• Very limited capacity Extensive capacity• Retention for seconds Retention for minutes to years• Conscious access to all content Limited conscious access• Depends on attention Less dependent on attention• Immediate retrieval only Retrieval can be extended • Forgetting is immediate Forgetting is gradual• Amenable to simple strategies Amenable to elaborate strategies• Easy to assess Difficult to assess• Less susceptible to brain injury Very susceptible to injury• Frontal & parietal lobes Medial temporal lobe• Electrical activity Neuronal and synaptic changes

LTM Memory Systems1. Explicit/declarative Link

1. Episodic---episodes, events, autobiographical1. Organized by scripts

2. Semantic---factual, knowledge, academic1. Organized by schemas

2. Implicit/nondeclarative1. Priming---unconscious associations (example)2. Procedural learning--- “how to” learning3. Classical conditioning---e.g., phobias

3. Prospective Memory (not really a separate memory system)

Explicit vs Implicit• Explicit Implicit• Conscious Unconscious• Knowledge Skills• Flexible expression Rigid expression• Hippocampus-dependent Non-hippocampus• Recollection expresses Performance expresses• Cognitive only Non-cognitive also• Effortful retrieval also Automatic retrieval only• Develops until adulthood Developed by age 3 • Vulnerable to injury Resistant to injury

Episodic vs Semantic• Episodic Semantic• Memory for events Memory for facts• Remembering Knowing• Context dependent Context free• Subjective focus Objective focus• Vulnerable to pathology Resistant to pathology• Develops later Develops first• Known source Unknown source• Mostly visuospatial Mostly verbal• Unintentional encoding More intentional• Chronological Categorical• Organized spatiotemporally Organized by

meaning• Subject to rapid forgetting Less rapid forgetting• Few demands on WM Requires WM

Episodic-Semantic Interactions

1. Semantic slowly accrues from episodic2. School learning is initially episodic but

eventually semantic3. Episodic helps build the semantic4. Semantic provides the schemas and scripts for

the episodic5. Episodic provides context cues for semantic6. Memory tests are episodic

Encoding

1. Requires attention2. Associated with learning3. All other LT memory depends on4. Enhanced by strategies5. Hippocampus dependent6. STM and WM deficits reduce encoding

opportunities

Learning

1. Mainly refers to initial learning, encoding, and short-term recall

2. Learning curve---improves rapidly then plateaus

3. What is difficult to learn is difficult to remember and vice versa

4. Can be different from retention and recall, given same degree of learning

Consolidation

1. Memories become more stable and resistant to interference over time

2. Memories are forgotten because they are not consolidated

3. LT memories are initially and temporarily stored in the hippocampus and adjoining medial temporal lobe structures

4. Over time they are transferred to the cortex for more “permanent” storage

Consolidation Details

1. Neuroscience construct; not cognitive psych.2. Evidence from TBI and amnesia

1. Ribot gradient3. Takes time: hours to several days4. Unconscious mostly5. Much of it occurs during sleep6. Especially important for semantic memory7. Reactivations improve consolidation

Sleep and Consolidation

1. Mainly during non-REM sleep2. Hippocampus “replays” experiences/learning

1. “Organizes” information; Strengthens connections2. “Moves” information to cortical areas

3. Sleep also reduces interference4. Sleep accounts for 69% of next day

improvement in procedural tasks5. Immediate sleep: 81% recall; delayed: 66%

Organization and Storage of Memories

1. The connections more important than the cells2. Memory traces (pathways): synapses

1. New memories: new synapses or changes in strength3. In networks of interconnected neurons, with

associated items linked more closely1. Logical linking at the neurological level may result

from thinking about two things at the same time (associations) (“fire together; wire together”)

4. Memories end up being stored in same areas that sensed, perceived, and processed info

Retrieval

1. Mostly automatic; strengthens memories2. WM involved in effortful retrieval3. We know more than we can retrieve4. Hippocampus reintegrates information5. Reasoning involved in reconstruction6. During assessment, compare with

recognition to determine whether it is a retrieval or a storage problem

Recognition

1. Should be better than uncued retrieval2. If not, there is a storage problem3. When significantly better, there is a retrieval

problem1. Slow retrieval2. Ineffective retrieval

4. If retrieval problems, cued testing (MC, TF, Matching) are appropriate modifications

Forgetting

1. Lost from storage; not a retrieval problem2. Lack of consolidation3. Fast at first, then reaches asymptote4. 20 to 80% forgotten within 24 hours5. Some retain well within 30 minutes or first

day but then have very poor retention afterwards (poor consolidation)

6. Is it lost or not retrievable at moment?

Forgetting

1. Forgetting is necessary/adaptive1. E.g., forget old address; remember new one

2. Facilitates retention of important info3. Retrieval causes forgetting of other info4. Memories that are not retrieved, decay5. Retrieval type of forgetting: cues don’t match

or one cue has multiple associations

Interference

1. Proactive---previous learning interferes with current learning

2. Retroactive---current learning interferences with previous learning

3. Related info. is the most interfering4. Controlled somewhat through inhibition5. Spread out instruction; different material

1. Block scheduling?

Interference

1. The primary cause of forgetting2. Memory improves when interference

reduced3. Amnesic individuals benefit from delaying

interference (dark room example)4. “Every time I learn something new, it pushes

some old stuff out of my brain” Homer Simpson

Executive Aspect: Metamemory

1. Understanding memory functions2. Self-awareness of strengths/weaknesses3. Knowing what you know

1. Judgments of learning4. Regulating/controlling memory5. Strategy knowledge and monitoring6. Conditional knowledge (why it works)7. Metamemory development is an absolutely

essential intervention piece

Memory Strategies

1. Simple strategy use by age 32. From simple to complex to integrated3. After age 6, account for LTM improvement4. Strategy use and recall (r = .81)5. Use depends on metamemory (r = .41) and

knowledge of efficacy6. Development spurred by academic

requirements

LTM Memory Development

1. Memory structures fully developed by age 6 except those related to exec. functions

2. Consistent improvements in retention1. Due to expanded background knowledge2. Due to growth of effective strategies

3. Retained episodic memories by age 34. Semantic before episodic (infantile amnesia)5. Implicit before explicit

Neuroanatomy

LTM and the Brain Lobes

1. Temporal lobes---encoding, retrieval, consolidation, temporary storage of long-term episodic memories

2. Frontal lobes---memory strategies for encoding and retrieval (no actual storage of memories)

3. Parietal---auditory and spatial storage4. Occipital---visuospatial storage

The Hippocampus

The Hippocampus

1. Horseshoe shape in temporal lobe2. Necessary for STM-LTM transfer3. Encodes, consolidates, retrieves and re-

integrates4. May hold some episodic permanently5. Explicit memory only6. Sensitive to injury, glucose, oxygen, &

cortisol levels

The Hippocampus

1. Responsible for transferring memories to cortex

1. Active during sleep

2. Spatial memory depends on (perhaps more than verbal memory)

1. London’s taxi drivers

3. Large EEG signals4. High levels of glucocorticoid receptors

The Hippocampus

1. Hippocampus cells can grow back2. New neurons can be created from stem cells;

up to six weeks to mature3. Rats given Prozac had a 70 percent increase

in hippocampi cells after three weeks4. Humans who recover from depression have

more hippocampal volume than those who are chronically depressed

What the Hippocampus Needs

1. Oxygen2. Glucose3. Sleep4. No cortisol5. No impact6. No electricitySee YouTube Video: “Hippocampus Damage”

At-Risk Conditions, Disorders

• Risk of damage to hippocampus • Some present at birth or early infancy; others

acquired later• Some temporary with recovery, some stable,

some progressively worse• Sometimes, damage to prefrontal cortex See ChartWill review details after interventions

TBI

• .25% of youth acquire a TBI each year• Severe TBI: 36 – 53% have ongoing impairments in

LTM• Implicit more resistant to injury• More verbal problems than visuospatial• Most mild cases recover within a month

– But some can have persistent problems

• Most moderate cases within 1-2 years• Metamemory when frontal lobes involved

Post-Concussion Syndrome

• 19% chance for school athletes per year• Likely memory problems: few days/weeks• Loss of consciousness, orientation, increases risk• Possibility of persistent LTM problems should be

considered• Athletes will deny so they can play again• Pre-season baseline testing important (IMPACT)• Example: Soccer player

Tier I: WM Screening for Young Children

1. Verbal: Digits Forward; Letter Span; Memory for Words; Memory for Sentences

2. Visual-spatial: Picture Recognition, Spatial Span, Recall of Designs

3. Executive WM: Digits Backward; Letter-Number

4. WM levels are very predictive of later academic performance; need for LD

Tier I: LT Memory Screening

1. Phonological STM: Digits Forward and Memory for Words

2. Executive WM: Digits Backward3. Learning: Visual-Auditory Learning or Word

List learning4. Verbal LTM: Verbal Delayed Recall5. Retrieval: Rapid Automatic Naming and

Retrieval Fluency

Tier I: Cognitive Load in the Classroom

1. Instruction easily overloads WM1. By the nature of the material2. By the manner it is presented

2. Focus on designing instruction that reduces cognitive load

3. Typical classroom learning activities easily overload WM

Classroom Overload Exs.

1. Long, complex, inconsistent verbalization2. Requiring two processes simultaneously3. No time for processing or rehearsal 4. No external memory aids5. Noisy learning environment6. No or limited scaffolding/support7. Disorganized presentations8. Too many concurrent demands

High Cognitive Load Examples

1. Excessive length2. Unfamiliar and not meaningful content3. Demanding mental activities4. Need to integrate information5. Keeping track of steps while doing task6. Tasks that require a lot of switching of

attention

Cognitive Load Reduction

1. Well designed instruction reduces load1. Leaves capacity for retention & encoding of info.

2. Or, allow processing without need to remember; e.g. facts in writing are available

3. Or, processing reminders are available4. Teach students to alternate between

processing and refreshing5. Students learn under low load conditions

Reducing Cognitive Load

1. Only one step, process at a time2. Allow time for processing and rehearsal 3. Allow self-paced processing4. Provide external memory aids5. Quite learning environment6. Organized materials and presentations7. Worked, partially-completed examples

1. Keep adding more for student to complete

Reducing Cognitive Load

1. Sequence material from simple to complex2. Present material in an integrated way3. Include visual presentation4. Side by side information (being able to see as

all the information in an integrated fashion) better than stacked information (e.g. computers)

5. Avoid load that is not related or necessary to the learning (extraneous load)

General Skills to Teach Student

1. Ask for help and repetition2. Take notes 3. Be organized4. Don’t self-overload; one task/step at a time5. Learn to use memory aids

Tier I: WM and Automaticity

1. Mastery or fluency frees up WM resources1. Reading decoding and reading comprehension

2. Math problem solving3. Written language

1. Organization and coordination4. Long-term structures free up WM5. Automaticity equals faster processing

Rehearsal Strategies (STM)

1. Most have by age 10; 1st graders can learn2. Serial and cumulative repetitive process3. Repeat first word until next delivered then add next

word to the repetition4. First aloud, then subvocal5. Good maintenance if overlearned6. Increase length of list 7. More effective than elaborate strategies?

Tier I LTM: The Mnemonic Classroom

1. Focus on methods that support consolidation, storage, and retrieval, not just encoding

2. Educates students about memory3. Teaches memory strategies/mnemonics4. Conveys message that you can improve your

memory5. Mnemonic instruction improves academic

learning

Dual Encoding

1. Instructors should make it both verbal and visual or give students time to recode

2. Instruct students to visualize verbal info.3. Instruction students to name/describe visual-

spatial info.4. Increases the number of pathways available

for retrieval5. Spelling example

Verbal Memory Strategy: Elaboration

1. Relate new info. with previous2. Facilitates encoding and LTM organization,

consolidation, retrieval3. Teachers should provide for young child4. In-depth versus superficial processing5. Ties info. with appropriate schema6. Example: Asking and answering the “Why

does this make sense” question

Distributed/Spaced Practice1. More efficient than massed/daily review2. Strengthens neural pathways3. Increases learning by 15%4. Builds on remembered information5. Supports consolidation & semantic memory6. Information must actually be retrieved; best when

effortful retrieval needed7. Review should be about the time information is

beginning to decay1. E.g., 1, 2, 4 days, 1, 2, 4 week intervals

Periodic Testing

1. Extremely effective2. Works because retrieval is required3. Can be self-testing4. First quiz immediately or within a day5. Expanding intervals like periodic review6. Not limited to items actually tested7. Encoding specificity principle

PQRST

1. Preview and skim the passage2. Generate at least four questions that need

answers, such as who, what, when, and where

3. Actively read the passage while seeking answers to the questions

4. Study the information5. Self-test answers to the questions6. Dehn’s option: Insert the “why” question

Context Cues

1. Within the first week or so, retrieval of info is from episodic memory, not semantic

2. Episodic cues facilitate recall: smell, objects, colors, feelings, etc.

3. Testing in an environment other than the actual learning environment lowers test scores by as much as 30%

4. Teach students to recall the environment when they are tested elsewhere

Tier II: WM Interventions & the Brain

1. These are exercises, not strategies2. Brain plasticity should apply to WM3. To effect the brain, training must have sufficient

difficulty (at the limits of capacity) and intensity; and be repetitive and daily

4. Klingberg claims working memory capacity can be increased in The Overflowing Brain

5. Cogmed: See Video6. Methylphenidate (dopamine) improves WM7. Physical exercise

N-Back Task (Exec. WM)

1. Challenging task but easily administered2. Shown to improve WM capacity3. Remember stimulus n-items back4. Do it repetitively5. Deck of cards ideal; prevents practice effects6. Parents and children can practice at home7. n-back task8. What strategy would you teach the child for

succeeding at this?

N-Back Procedures

1. Display cards one at a time for 1-2 seconds2. Start over after 1st error3. Should get 10 consecutive correct 3 times

before going to next N4. 10-15 minutes of daily practice for 4 weeks5. More challenging: A double n-back6. Establish baseline 7. Encourage strategy use

WM Training Impact on Brain

1. Takeuchi et al. (2010)2. Adaptive training with 2 N-Back visual tasks3. Increase in white matter correlated with

amount of training & improved performance4. Mainly adjacent to the corpus callosum and

in white matter parietal region5. Increased transfer of info, at the dorsolateral

prefrontal cortex, location of executive WM

Start With Metamemory

1. Teach child how memory works and its limitations

2. Teach child self-awareness 3. Inform child of personal strengths and

weaknesses4. Teach about how we can control memory5. Have child keep a journal during intervention

Video I

Convincing Students of the Efficacy of Interventions

1. Memorize word list versus memorize list while visualizing the object

2. Organizational strategy1. Memorize random words2. Memorize words arranged in categories3. Dramatic improvement is convincing

3. Important for maintenance I II4. Other ways of documenting progress?

Mnemonics

• Visual mnemonics link information to something already known that will not be forgotten– Act as a scaffold or bridge

• Verbal not effective with verbal learning disabilities; info lost of mnemonic lost & might not remember what letters represent

Visual Mnemonics

1. For students with low verbal WM2. Link info to something already known that will not

be forgotten; Act as a scaffold or bridge 3. Creates associations and meaning4. Best when student creates images5. Interactive images best6. Ideal for those with verbal WM deficit7. Basic visualization without a mnemonic is also

beneficial

Keyword

1. Highly effective2. Combines auditory and visual3. First, the acoustical link (keyword)4. Then, image of linked items interacting5. To retrieve, think of keyword first6. LD do better when keyword and image

provided Link Video

Keyword Practice

• Use keywords for Denver, Colorado• Use keyword for these Spanish words:• Vaca = cow• Carta = letter• Escalera = ladderMake the images unique, interactive, but

focused on the keyword and meaning

Loci

• Visual pairing of items with well known objects, e.g. household furniture

• Can be in order• See video• Loci practice with items in student’s bedroom:

Boston settlers in sequence: Native Americans, Vikings, Pilgrims, Italians

Discussion

• Pick an intervention that is new to you– Review the information– Explain to your peers

• Why you like this method• Who you would use it with• How you intend to use it, e.g., which subjects• The challenges involved in its use

• Discuss how you will demonstrate to students the efficacy of this intervention

Tier III Interventions

Compared with Tier II, they are:• Longer• More practice• More individualizedAlso:• Data-driven• Linked with academic deficiencies

Errorless Learning

1. Especially for amnesic cases2. Prevent learning of errors; unlearning of

errors is difficult3. Prevent guessing; supply most of the answer

at first4. Allows learning through implicit system5. Learners may not recall having learned but

they can learn skills

Self-Imaging

• Imagining yourself in the scene, viewing things as if you were actually there– Imagine details and feelings– For literature, social studies

• Works because the personal aspects of episodic memory are usually intact

External Memory Aids

1. Diaries or journals2. Memory books or memory notebooks Link3. Alarms and timers4. Reminders provided by computers5. Schedules and assignment calendars6. Checklists with step-by-step procedures7. Folders for organizing notes and materials8. Lists of activities that need to be completed9. Step-by-step instructions for using a strategy

LTM College Case Study

1. Cancerous brain tumors at age 162. Affected vision and memory3. Originally an A-B student, now failing4. Both episodic memory & semantic probs.5. Prospective memory problems6. Metamemory not realistic7. After first semester 2.5 gpa;

1. After third semester 3.5 gpa8. His plan at end of training Link

Case Study Intervention

1. PDA/Assignment calendar for everything2. Memory notebook3. Memory spot at home4. Study schedule (tied to review schedule)5. Shorthand for taking notes6. Update notes immediately following class7. Highlight notes and make review sheet

Case Study Intervention

8. Reading/studying text1. Preview2. Elaborative thinking3. Highlight4. Answer “why” question5. Make review sheet

9. Review schedule10. Self-testing

Case Study Intervention

11. How to recall during tests12. For WM, N-back

Sessions via SkypeSubject adhered to plan wellLearned how to modify and combine strategiesParent observed training and took notes

High School Memory Intervention

• Results: Student’s Reflections on what was learned and how to use it Link